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Monday, 9 September 2013

Review: Kitty Steals the Show

Kitty Norville is pretty much my ideal main character: someone who gets out of (and sometimes into) trouble by talking, not fighting - though she can fight if she must - and who builds a good deep bench of allies in the process; who gets through scary situations basically on chutzpah; and who is able to exercise a keen intelligence, even while terrified, outnumbered and outgunned.

I wouldn't say that this is the best of the series, certainly, but I enjoyed it. I did feel that the big speech near the end, for which we got a lot of build-up starting early on, wasn't as powerful as I had hoped it would be. It did its job, though, and in a way, a speech that leaves much of the audience uncomfortable and thinking less of Kitty than they did before is a better move in a long-running series.

It's worth the extra dollar or two above the price of an indie book to get decent editing, too. I have the samples for the next two books on my Kindle, and will be getting them next time I feel like this particular brand of urban fantasy: a medium level of stakes and action, a smart protagonist and a competent supporting cast.

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About Me

I write a steampunk-fantasy series about heroic civil servants called The Gryphon Clerks; an urban fantasy series, Auckland Allies; and a lot of short stories, plus the occasional nonfiction book. I do a lot of book reviewing, too. I'm harsh but (I hope) constructive. Currently not accepting review requests.

I'll probably only circle you back if you engage me in conversation, and if you either mostly write about writing or something else I find interesting, or you're an unusually interesting and insightful person. Exception: I don't circle erotica writers, just because of what might show up in my stream. Nothing personal.